Antigone

Antigone

Eteocles and Polynices, Antigone and Ismene’s brothers, killed each other in fighting for ownership of the land of Thebes. Eteocles is put to rest via a proper burial, whereas Polynices is to go unburied as a form of punishment. Antigone is determined to bury her brother, Polynices, as she believes he should be buried honorably as Eteocles was. However, her sister, Ismene, tells Antigone that this action will not go unpunished. Ismene tells Antigone that if she indeed buries Polynices, the punishment is death. Antigone doesn’t care, and says she will bury him anyway, as it is the right thing to do; she asks Ismene to help her in the act, but Ismene refuses saying that she will have no part in this scheme, she will not choose death like Antigone so chooses.
Eteocles died defending Thebes from Polynices, who fought against the city and nearly brought about its destruction. This is why Eteocles was given a proper burial upon his death whereas Polynices was left to rot above the earth and not below it. Creon decides that this is the just route to take.
A sentry brings a message to Creon that is urgent, but he is afraid to relate the news because he doesn’t know how the king will react to it. He finally tells Creon that an unknown person has properly buried Polynices. The Chorus suggests that the gods may have done this on their own, but Creon disagrees with this saying that the gods would never do such a thing for a traitor like Polynices. Creon grows suspicious that one of the sentries watching over the burial grounds took a bribe to defy the law/rule of Creon,and illegally buried Polynices. He begins to suspect the current sentry of this crime and threatens him saying that if the real criminal is not found out, he will put the sentry to death. The sentry, in his innocence, is totally freaked out by this and leaves.
The chorus sings about men and their powers, but how men should not always make choices of their own accord, but rather listen to the gods who are the real powers in the world and abide by the laws and rules of their lands.
The sentry returns with Antigone. The sentry tells Creon that he and the other sentries dug up Polynices and left him to lie there. They were then caught up in a storm, but when the storm passed they saw Antigone bent over Polynices, attempting to rebury him. The sentries caught her and asked her if she was the one who originally buried Polynices, and she said she was; she denied nothing they accused her of. And again, when Creon asks her if she committed this crime, she replies that she did, and denies no accusation cast upon her. Creon lets the sentry go, free of all charges and suspicions, and asks Antigone if she was aware of his strict rule that none shall bury Polynices. Antigone replies that she was well aware of this rule, but doesn’t believe she did any wrong by the gods. She says she only broke the rule of Creon, who she believes to be unjust anyway. Creon calls up Ismene and then sentences both sisters to death. Antigone says that her burying Polynices was an honorable act and therefore, she will gladly die for it. She says that most of the town has taken her side against the king’s on the issue, they are just too afraid to confront the king about it. Creon asks Antigone if she thought that burying Polynices was an insult to her other brother Eteocles because they were enemies, and she replies that both brothers, despite their motives, deserve proper burials. She does not want to hold any grudges, but to love. Ismene then says that she will share her sister’s punishment although she had to no part in the rule breaking. Antigone, however, tells Ismene not to do this and that she is a coward for not helping until now and still wanting to die in glory. Ismene still tries to save Antigone by appealing to Creon’s softer side and bringing his son into play because Haemon and Antigone are promised to one another for marriage. Creon, however, does not soften under her words, and orders that the two sisters be tied up and taken away.
The chorus sings a song about how Oedipus’ house is now again full of sadness, death, and deception.
Haemon learns of Antigone’s arrest, and Creon speaks to him about it. Haemon says that he would abide by his father over any woman, and that he is loyal to his father. Haemon also says that the town does not want Antigone to be punished for a deed that is seemingly honorable in most aspects. Creon gets mad at this, that his own people be questioning his ruling/decisions. Haemon then tells Creon that he is shallow and too proud which only infuriates Creon further. Creon then begins to insult Haemon, and the two begin to argue. In doing this, Haemon hints that Creon’s killing Antigone could bring about the death of another person. Creon, enraged, asks for Antigone to be brought out and murdered right infront of Haemon’s eyes, but Haemon gets out of there fast. Creon then decides that Ismene should not have to die, but Antigone will die slowly, locked inside of a tomb alive.
The Chorus sings about love and its powers and how it cannot be overthrown by weapons or warfare and can drive people to insanity. The chorus regards Antigone’s “nobility” as sheer pride as she walks to her tomb.
On the way to her tomb, Antigone declares that she would not have broken Creon’s rule if the person that was not to be buried was her husband or her child because both of those can be replaced. However, a brother whose parents are dead could not be replaced, and that is her justification of the whole situation. She is put into the tomb, and the Chorus sings about other figures in myth who have been put in tombs alive to die, just like Antigone is now.
Tiresias, the blind prophet, is led in by a boy who describes to him everything he sees. The boy is eyes for the both of them. Creon asks for Tiresias’ advice, and Tiresias tells him that his actions towards Polynices’ burial and death punishment for Antigone will make the gods send a “curse” down on Thebes and all who inhabit it. Creon gets angry at this and says that accuses Tiresias of being a blind fool who gives poor advice. Tiresias tells Creon that the gods are to take care of the dead, whether they are honorable or dishonorable; the gods are to decide that. People are limited to rule only within the world’s boundaries. Tiresias, insulted by Creon, asks the boy to lead him away from there. However, Tiresias’ prophecy has shaken up the Chorus and Creon also admits to being a little weary of what is to come. Creon decides he will do what the people of Thebes think he should do. The people tell him to free Antigone of her sad fate, and Creon goes off to do so. The Chorus begins to pray for the protection of Thebes because he is scared about that Tiresias’ prophecy will come true.
A messenger enters and tells the Chorus that Haemon has killed himself. Eurydice, wife to Creon, mother to Haemon, overhears part of the messenger’s news and asks to hear it all, and she says she can bear it no matter how grieving the news may be. The messenger relays the news of her now deceased son who had been heard wailing and crying at the sight of Antigone, who had hung herself in her tomb. Haemon was heard wailing by Creon who had been reburying Polynices, and Creon had gone done to the tomb to see what the sound was. Haemon had then taken a sword and made a plunge for Creon, but Creon ran away. Haemon then plunged the sword into his own self. After hearing this news, Eurydice walks silently back into the palace.
Creon enters the palace, holding Haemon’s body and blaming himself for his death. The messenger then tells Creon that Eurydice has committed suicide due to her extreme grief of her son’s death. The messenger tells Creon that Eurydice blamed Creon for all the death and destruction that had take place due to his extreme pride; this she did just before she stabbed herself in the heart. Creon, overwhelmed by grief, prays and begs for death.
The Chorus sings a song about how the gods are not especially appreciative of the proud and hold no rewards for such persons.

Oedipus the King

Oedipus the King

The book starts off with the townspeople gathering around Oedipus' palace in Thebes and inquiring of Oedipus the despair that has lately been surrounding their lives. One of the eldest men speaks to Oedipus about the town's poverish state and asks him to help the townspeople, the citizens, get out of such a mess. Oedipus tells the old man that he will do all in his power to help and bring the town back to its propserous state. Creon, Oedipus' brother-in-law is sent to speak with Apollo and returns. He speaks to Oedipus about there being a cursed person in the town that is bringing bad fortune to their lands; they say the one, or few, who killed Laius, king before Oedipus, are condemned by the gods and now bring hardship to the land where they reside. Creon says that the murderers of Laius were a band of theives, robbers. He says they must be run out of Thebes in order for the land to once again prosper. Creon says that no one tried to find out the murderers before because the town was being terrorized by a Sphinx who spoke only riddles.

Oedipus tries to find out the murderer himself by promising that whoever confesses will be punished no further than banishment from Thebes. No one confesses, all are quiet. Then Oedipus gets angry and reprimands the citizens for not finding and punishing the murderers long ago, as they rightly should have been at that time.

Oedipus then calls and speaks to Tiresias, the blind prophet. Although he cannot see, he seems to see more than the average man. Tiresias tells Oedipus that he knows of the murderer, but cannot say who he is. This greatly angers Oedipus, and the angrier he gets, he begins to insult Tiresias and finally accuses him of being the murderer. At this Teiresias says that he-Oedipus, king of Thebes-is Laius' muderder. Oedipus is, of course, outraged to hear this accusation, and begins to think that Tiresias and Creon are conspiring against him, to overthrow him.

Tiresias keeps talking, saying that Oedipus does not know of his true parents. Although this makes Oedipus more angry, it also intrigues him, and he asks Tiresias who are his real parents. Tiresias replies that the murderer of Laius will be the brother and father of his children, the son and husband to his mother.

After Tiresias leaves, Creon enters, and Odysseus sort of banishes him under the suspicion of his conspiracy to overthrow him and take his place as king because it was he who told Oedipus to summon Tiresias. However, Jocasta, Oedipus' wife, enters and talks Oedipus out of that madness and Creon leaves.

Jocasta tells Oedipus that all prophets are wrong. She then relates a story in which a prophet told her and Laius that Laius would be killed by their own son. They had their son removed from their home and abandoned, feet pinned together, on a mountainside. Or so they thought. This story sounds somewhat familiar to Oedipus and he asks Jocasta to describe to him the scene in which the king was killed. Jocasta does so, and Oedipus is relieved to know that king Laius was killed by a band of theives, not he, for Oedipus, too, killed a man among other men in a carriage at a three-way crossroads. Oedipus tells Jocasta about when he was child, that one of his father's men drunkily told him that his parents were not his true parents. Oedipus questioned his parents who assured him they were. He was still not sure, though, and traveled to the oracle. The oracle of Delphi did not tell him if his parents were his true parents, but he did tell him that he would eventually kill his own father and sleep with his mother. Oedipus ran away thus coming to Thebes and to rule, and on the way there, is met by a carriage of men who provoke him and he kills all but one or two who escape him. He then traveled to Thebes. (He also solves the Sphinx's riddle, and the town is finally rid of her.)

Oedipus begins to send for those who may know what happened at the three-way crossroads, but no one knows. A messenger arrives and tells Jocasta that Oedipus' father, Polybus, is dead of natural causes. Oedipus and Jocasta are very happy to hear this on account that Oedipus is the rule over Polybus' lands as well now. Oedipus does get weary, though, when he thinks back to the prophecy that he is still to sleep with his mother. The messenger assures Oedipus that no such thing will take place because Merope and Polybus are/were not his real parents.

The messenger then instills fear once again in Oedipus when he speaks about his younger years as a shepherd and how he was given a little baby by another to raise, who's feet had been pinned together. He had delivered that baby to Polybus and Merope, and together they raised him.

Jocasta is slowly piecing together the story and leaves the scene, returns to the palace.

The shepherd who originally took the baby to dispose of it, but could not, is brought forth. He explains that it was he who brought the baby Oedipus from Polybus and Merope themselves. Oedipus finally understands what's going on here, and leaves in an instant, runs back into the palace.

It turns out that Oedipus unknowingly murdered his own father, and married his own mother, and they had children together. Jocasta committs suicide, and at this, Oedipus gouges out his eyes with 'golden brooches.' Oedipus asks to be banished from Thebes, and Creon grants him this, if the gods allow it. Oedipus believes the gods do not want him dead. Oedipus' girls enter so that Oedipus may say goodbye to them. Creon ends the goodbyes and tells Oedipus that it is time for him to go.

Introduction to Oedipus the King

The Introduction

Dramatic Irony: In Oedipus the King, dramatic irony is significant because the main story line is the ignorance of Oedipus versus the well informed-reader/other characters in the book. The reader is filled in on what is going on in the book, whereas Oedipus remains in blissful ignorance until the end when he finds out the truth of his origin and family. The reader, however, is informed of this in the introduction, before the story/play begins.

The introduction also talks about Sophocles, his being a respectable sort of person in prosperity and in hard times up until his death. The introduction mainly sets up the background of the play: the time period, the prosperity, the land's recession, the type of government, and the peoples' struggle to overcome their poverty although without success. This gives the reader the knowledge to better understand Oedipus the King as they read through it.
The chorus acts as a bystander, every once in a while presenting the main themes of the play. The chorus also comments or holds conversation with the other characters in the play.

The Odyssey-Book Twenty

Book Twenty

Odysseus is worried that there are too many suitors for he and Telemachus to overthrow, but is then calmed by Athena who reminds him that the gods will help. Penelope cannot sleep because she is very upset about Odysseus and really doesn’t want to have to remarry, so she asks Artemis to kill her. Odysseus hears her and asks Zeus to send a sign that is good. Zeus sends thunder and a maid nearby gets angry at the suitors. The next day, the suitors meet, and Amphinomus tells them to call of Telemachus’ murder because they all see an eagle with a dove in its talons. This is a sign of doom, they think. Odysseus tries very hard to not lose his temper over the suitors. One of the snobby and wealthy suitors throws a cow’s hoof at Odysseus and Telemachus loses his cool and threatens to kill this man. However, the suitors only laugh. Little do they know of their inescapable doom.

The Odyssey-Book Nineteen

Book Nineteen

As soon as the suitors go to sleep, Telemachus and Odysseus go to work collecting and hiding all the weapons. Athena provides light for them to see. Telemachus tells the nurse, Eurycleia, that they are getting the weapons out of harm’s way, out of the way so they won’t get damaged at all. Telemachus then goes to bed, and Odysseus (still disguised as a beggar) is joined by Penelope who wants to ask him questions about his family, his homeland..etc. She wants to know if the “beggar” really has met Odysseus, and she asks him to describe Odysseus and any men that may have been with him as a test to see if he really had met Odysseus. The beggar, Odysseus, describes in detail the clothing he was wearing and the name of one of the men that accompanied him. Penelope believes him because his discriptions are correct. He then tells Penelope the same story he told Eumaeus about how he met Odysseus and how he came to Ithica although he changes the story just slightly. He tells Penelope that Odysseus is indeed still alive and will probably be home very soon. Penelope insists that one of her maids should wash his feet, and Eurycleia does so. Eurycleia was Odysseus’ and Telemachus’ nurse/ a kind of nanny to them their whole lives. She knows everything about Odysseus, and as she is washing his feet, she feels a familiar scar above his knee from when he was little and went boar hunting with his father. She recognizes immediately that this beggar is Odysseus disguised and gets really excited and tearful. Odysseus tells her she must not tell anyone, or it could bring about her own ruin. She promises not to tell anyone. Penelope (who was distracted by Athena during Eurycleia’s discovery of Odysseus) then describes to Odysseus a dream that she has had in which an eagle comes down by her geese and kills them. After the eagle does this, it comes to her and speaks. It says to her that it is her husband, Odysseus, and that it just killed all of her suitors. Penelope doesn’t know what this dream means, but she has finally decided to choose a new husband. She will choose the first man that can shoot an arrow through twelve loop holes in a row.

The Odyssey-Book Sixteen

Book Sixteen

When Telemachus arrives at Eumaeus’ home, he sees Odysseus (still disguised). Eumaeus explains the “stranger’s” story to Telemachus and asks Telemachus if Odysseus might stay at the palace. But Telemachus knows of the suitors’ schemes and doesn’t think it’s a safe idea for either of them to stay there. He sends Eumaeus to the palace to inform Penelope that her son has returned to Ithica safely. When Eumaeus has left to deliver the message to Penelope, Odysseus is left alone with Telemachus. Odysseus is called outside by Athena and while outside she transforms him to a younger, more heroic-looking form of himself. When he goes back inside the hut, Telemachus is shocked and asks who this person is. Telemachus asks Odysseus if he is a god or accompanied by a god to be able to disguise himself and change his appearance so quickly. Odysseus tells Telemachus the truth: that he is his father. At first, Telemachus doesn’t believe him, but is finally convinced that it is true, and they both hug. Then Odysseus begins to form an idea, a plot, of how they are going to get rid of the suitors. He plans to disguise himself again as a beggar in the city. Telemachus will hide all the weapons until the time is right, and then they can both use all the weapons to their advantage to kill the suitors. Eumaeus doesn’t get to Penelope in time to inform her of Telemachus’ return because a messenger from the ship informs the whole city first. The suitors are bummed because they had this plan to kill Telemachus upon his return, but didn’t foresee his sneaky entrance onto Ithica through the countryside. The suitors quickly begin devising a new plan to kill Telemachus. Amphinomus (one of the better suitors) says that everyone should wait for a sign from the gods before doing anything. Later on, Penelope yells at Antinous for plotting to kill her son. Another suitor, Eurymachus, calms her down by lying and saying that Telemachus will be safe.

The Odyssey-Book Fifteen

Book Fifteen

Athena warns Telemachus that he must return home soon to prevent the suitors from marrying his mother. She also warns that the suitors are planning to kill him upon his return so she gives him a route that he must take when he returns to Ithica. He must go first to Eumaeus, and he will tell Penelope that her son is home safe. Telemachus prepares to leave immediately after waking up, and his hosts give him great gifts and send he and his men on their way. Before departing, an eagle carrying a goose swoops down near Telemachus. His hostess, Helen, says it is an omen that Odysseus is going to come back and get revenge on the suitors. Telemachus and his men make a couple of stops on the way to Ithica, before boarding their ship, to rest.
Odysseus (still disguised as an old man) continues to stay with Eumaeus. Eumaeus tells Odysseus of how he first came to Ithica.
Meanwhile Telemachus and his men board their ship and sail to Ithica. Upon arriving in Ithica in the morning, Telemachus takes the separate route to Eumaeus just as Athena told him to do, and his men go on up to the city. Before his men depart from Telemachus, however, they all see a hawk carrying a dove in its talons fly by. One of Telemachus’ men interprets this as a sign that Odysseus’ home and people are strong.